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Mr. Jacques Gourde (Lévis—Lotbinière, CPC)

Apr/28/22 4:23:51 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, the economic update presented by the Minister of Finance last fall did not include a single item or line about the possibility of increasing interest rates. The same is true of the recent budget. The minister has completely ignored any such increase, which demonstrates the level of Liberal incompetence. Can the minister tell us what this will mean in terms of debt? How much is this going to cost Canadians in additional interest given the higher interest rates we are going to have this year? We have heard nothing about their impact.

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Hon. Chrystia Freeland

Apr/28/22 4:24:38 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, I apologize to the House, but what the opposition member just said is simply not true. The budget contains a number of analyses that talk about inflation and interest rates, and I can find those page numbers. The budget was subjected to a stress test examining the effects of various scenarios on the economy and the fiscal situation of our country. With regard to the debt, I want to point out that, for this fiscal year, the cost of paying down the Canadian debt will represent 1% of our country's GDP, which remains a historically low level. I want to again emphasize that there are several analyses in the budget showing the impact of various scenarios in relation to inflation, interest rates and the war in Ukraine.

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ)

Apr/28/22 4:26:06 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, I know that I already spoke about this issue when I gave my speech on Bill C‑8. I spoke at length about it with my colleague from Joliette, and we came to the conclusion that this interferes in Quebec's and the provinces' jurisdiction over property tax. We are accused of picking fights, but why is the Liberal government constantly encroaching on the responsibilities of Quebec and the provinces? My colleague from Joliette may have an amendment to propose wherein the tax on secondary residences would apply only in the provinces that want it so that they, and Quebec of course, can choose for themselves. Why is the government taking a centralist approach yet again and trying to interfere in a jurisdiction belonging to Quebec and the provinces?

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Hon. Chrystia Freeland

Apr/28/22 4:26:56 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the question and for pointing out how our government always tries to work in close collaboration with the provinces and territories, including Quebec of course. Many measures in Bill C‑8 have to do with the fight against COVID‑19, which is ongoing, and the vital efforts to keep Canada's economy going and ensure that society stays open during the sixth wave of this pandemic. I want to point out that our government, the federal government, is the one that has supported the provinces and territories in this fight. In March, we sent $2 billion to the provinces and territories to strengthen their health care systems. The bill provides for $300 million to support the proof of vaccination systems implemented by the provinces and territories, as well as $1.7 billion for the rapid tests that we are sending to the provinces and territories for free.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Apr/28/22 4:28:32 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, people and their families are paying more for rent, groceries and gas, and instead of helping people out, the Liberal governments keep protecting, in this instance, their wealthy friends who own grocery chains. This seems to be a pattern with the current government, which gave Loblaws $12 million for fridges. Now we are in the middle of a recession and families are struggling. Why does the government continue to not help families in need?

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Hon. Chrystia Freeland

Apr/28/22 4:29:12 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, with the greatest respect, I have to disagree with the hon. member. The reality is that Bill C-8 and our most recent budget include a number of measures to help Canadians with the cost of living. They include dental care; they include doubling the support provided through the first-time homebuyers' tax credit; they include a multi-generational home renovation tax credit, which recognizes that many Canadians want to live together with an extended family; and they include, crucially, a $500 payment to those facing housing affordability challenges. Of course, the budget does also include some significant tax-raising measures targeted precisely for those who are at the very top.

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Mr. Doug Shipley (Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, CPC)

Apr/28/22 4:30:18 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, I have a very straightforward question. Where I come from, Barrie—Springwood—Oro-Medonte, the average price of a home is over $900,000. It is getting very tough for young people to buy their first home. In the recent budget 2022, there was a tax-free savings account set up to a maximum of $40,000. If someone hits that $40,000 in my area, they are still nowhere near being able to buy their first home. Can I maybe get an explanation as to why we are topped off at only $40,000 and how that is supposed to help people buy their first home?

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Hon. Chrystia Freeland

Apr/28/22 4:30:56 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, I am very glad to have another question on housing, because I think something that every member of this House does, and certainly should, agree on is that housing is one of the most serious economic and social challenges Canada faces today. We have the fastest-growing population in the G7, and the reality is that our housing supply is just not keeping up with a growing country. That is why the budget that I presented earlier this month puts forward the most ambitious plan ever put forward by any Canadian federal government on housing. What does it include? We recognize in the plan that housing is a big, complicated and multi-faceted challenge. We were upfront with Canadians and said there is no silver bullet, no single measure, not even a single budget that will fix it, but we are rolling up our sleeves and we are working on it. We are doing concrete things: the tax-free first home savings account; the $4-billion housing accelerator fund; a homebuyers' bill of rights, including a plan to end blind bidding; and the unprecedented two-year ban on foreign buyers.

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Mr. Dan Mazier (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, CPC)

Apr/28/22 4:32:25 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, with all due respect, with all the challenges our health care system had throughout the pandemic, how does charging a carbon tax to a hospital, in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars, reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

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Hon. Chrystia Freeland

Apr/28/22 4:32:48 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, the member opposite has touched on two really important issues for Canada. One is action to fight climate change, and the other is supporting Canada's health care system. When it comes to fighting climate change, I really believe that Canada today has a national consensus, a consensus that crosses party lines and a consensus that reaches from coast to coast to coast, and that is that climate change is real and that our country must ambitiously fight climate change. Let me also say, as finance minister, that yes, climate action is a moral imperative, an existential question, and we owe it to our children and future grandchildren to act on climate change, but it is also an economic necessity. The industrialized economies that are our trading partners have decided to go green, and the only question is whether Canada is going to be in the vanguard of the transformation, or falling behind.

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Mr. Jeremy Patzer (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC)

Apr/28/22 4:34:07 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, in part 5 of Bill C-8, the government has earmarked $300 million to continue to fund proof of vaccination requirements by the provinces. All the provinces that I am aware of have actually gotten rid of the proof of vaccination requirements. I am just wondering why the federal government is bothering to earmark and spend $300 million on something that the provinces are not asking for, and quite frankly are not even using right now.

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Hon. Chrystia Freeland

Apr/28/22 4:34:40 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, I had the real privilege yesterday of representing Canada at the funeral of Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. To get to Washington, I flew on an airplane. To get on the airplane, I had to present my Ontario proof of vaccination. I was glad, as I got on that plane, to be surrounded by other people who had been vaccinated. I was very glad that the Province of Ontario has arranged for me to be able to receive three doses of the vaccine, and has arranged for me to be able to have a proof of vaccination certificate.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Apr/28/22 4:35:32 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, Bill C-8 is one of a number of pieces of both legislative and budgetary measures with which the Government of Canada has been supporting Canadians and small businesses going through the pandemic. Could my colleague and friend, the Minister of Finance, explain from her perspective why it was so important, as a government, that we be there to support small businesses, whether it is within this legislation or other legislation and budgetary initiatives that the government has taken?

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Hon. Chrystia Freeland

Apr/28/22 4:36:11 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, it is important to support small businesses, because they are the heart not only of our economy but of our communities. Our measures have worked. We have prevented economic scarring. We have prevented a wave of bankruptcies, which people were concerned about when COVID first hit. Canada has now recovered 115% of the jobs lost to COVID, compared to just 93% in the United States.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Apr/28/22 4:36:36 p.m.
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It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith the question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House. The question is on the motion. If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair. The hon. member for Calgary Shepard.

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Mr. Tom Kmiec

Apr/28/22 4:37:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on behalf of Her Majesty's official opposition, I ask for a recorded division.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Apr/28/22 4:37:20 p.m.
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Call in the members. And the bells having rung:

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The Deputy Speaker

Apr/28/22 5:08:14 p.m.
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The question is on the motion. Shall I dispense? Some hon. members: Agreed. Some hon. members: No. [Chair read text of motion to House]

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The Deputy Speaker

Apr/28/22 5:21:31 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

I declare the motion carried.

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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, CPC)

Apr/28/22 5:22:10 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I welcome this opportunity to put the observations my constituents share with their MP on the public record. I am their servant. While the bill may have many parts, I intend to focus on the sections relevant to Canadians. With Liberal inflation, tax cuts are non-existent. With Liberal inflation, house prices will keep on rising. This will fuel more Liberal inflation, which in turn raises house prices even higher. It is a vicious circle. What started this cycle? This cycle was started by huge deficits commencing back in 2015 after the federal election. The Conservatives do not blame COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures, which we supported. The Prime Minister's inflationary deficits have been a signature policy of the government since long before COVID-19 hit. In fact, billions and billions of deficit dollars are being spent on things unrelated to the pandemic. In the case of defence spending, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has identified billions in borrowing that are unaccounted for. Taxpayers’ dollars are being poured down a black hole, but this socialist government refuses to tell Canadians what that spending is for. Canadians have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. When the NDP-Liberal socialist alliance inflates the monetary base, it is effectively devaluing the spending power of the money people have. By devaluing that spending power, it is actually hurting the people who have to spend that money on basic goods. The only way to get ahead of the inflationary spiral is to quit printing money. By continually printing money, which is called running a deficit, our currency is debased. This leads to greater deficits and more Liberal inflation. This in turn makes everything more unaffordable. Canadians who contact me are fearful about any Liberal plan to implement an electronic currency, or e-currency. They have no confidence that the money they earn and the money they save will keep its value. My constituents have read about negative interest rates, the seizure of bank accounts and social credit scores that Communist China keeps on its citizens, and they do not like what they hear. Accounts can be seized with the stroke of a keyboard. Just ask any “freedom convoy” supporter. Canadians who contact me tell me how divisive to society these socialist policies are. Since 2015, the gap between the rich and the poor in Canada has actually widened. Nowhere has this policy failure been more evident than in the rise in the cost of a single-family home. This is a big problem. Unaffordable housing prices are a direct result of the NDP-Liberal socialist coalition’s monetary policy. Blaming the Russians, Chinese, new immigrants, unseen foreigners or whoever else the socialist coalition wants to reserve this week’s two minutes of hate for is divisive, hateful and just another diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the real problems Canadians face. Young Canadians who call me simply expect a fair chance. They would like to believe that Canada is a country in which hard work and savings are realistic paths to home ownership. Young people in Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke want affordable housing where they can raise families, while not losing more than half of their paycheques each month to put a roof over their heads. Seniors want to grow old living in their own homes. This is not an unrealistic ask in a functioning democratic and free-market society. The socialist coalition wants to move away from this successful model. Since the government came to power or shortly thereafter, six years ago, the average price of a family home in Canada has shot up 87%. In 2016, the average price of a new house was $476,000. It is now $811,000, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. What was the coalition's response? It was another tax. Starting in the 2022 calendar year, Bill C-8 will charge a 1% federal surtax on non-resident owners of passively held real estate in Canada. That means even Canadians who own a home but live abroad for work are going to pay an extra 1% annually on the value of their home back here. It is like a municipal tax for those people who own property or their own single-family home, only the money goes to the feds. I am still waiting for a credible explanation of how this will create more affordable housing. The proposal is troubling in other ways. Taxing properties is municipal jurisdiction. Municipalities in my riding of are having serious financial difficulties. Now the federal government wants to pick their pockets too. Interfering in property tax is a serious mistake. It sets a dangerous precedent of interference from the federal government. Municipalities in the counties of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke charge a range of development fees. In Arnprior, development charges for a single or semi-detached dwelling run around $16,000. In Renfrew, it is $9,000. In Petawawa, development charges are over $6,000. In Cobden, the cost is roughly $5,800, and it is under $4,000 in Pembroke. Six municipalities in Renfrew County do not charge development fees: Admaston/Bromley; Bonnechere Valley; Laurentian Hills; North Algona Wilberforce; the township of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards; and the township of Head, Clara and Maria. In a recent presentation to county council, which is looking to increase development charges, fees in the rest of Ontario were examined. Some counties across Ontario charge almost $25,000 in development charges for a single detached or semi-detached dwelling. Others, such as my neighbour to the south, Lanark County, charge on the lower end of the scale at roughly $1,500 for development charges on a new residential home. The federal government needs to be working in co-operation with municipalities to help them decrease development fees. Only by increasing the housing supply will prices stabilize. Residents in Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke are very concerned about the planned home equity tax. That is another idea that undermines the municipal property tax base. With record sales, high prices for real estate, and the recent disclosure about CMHC funding studies to look at ways to raise revenues by taxing principal residences, Canadians have every right to be skeptical when half-hearted denials are made by the federal government. Canadians will have to wait and see when a new federal home equity tax, currently under consideration, will be implemented.

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